And soon there will be three ... according to schedule, Stora Enso will launch its new production in Gruvön, Sweden, in the 1Q of 2019. With this, the company will be the world's first CLT producer with three manufacturing plants. An additional capacity of 100,000 m³ boosts the output to a total of more than 270,000 m³/yr. Internally, however, Gruvön stands for more than a mere capacity extension. "We are starting the first large industrial CLT production in Scandinavia which is setting a strong signal for the Nordic market. We expect that this will also really kick off the market in the North", Gernot Weiss, Head CLT Business Line, is convinced. Norway and Sweden are markets that are already buying large volumes - volumes that until now have been mainly supplied by Austrian producers.
Producing where it's most useful
From 2019 onwards, this will change. "We are running a multi-mill setup", Herbert Jöbstl, Head of Operations Stora Enso Wood Products, explains. Translated from business English this means that in the future orders will be handled in a way that best fits customers with regards to logistics and products. Stora Enso wants to provide them with even higher supply security henceforth, and the company can optimize its three productions.
In technical terms, the new production is similar to the ones in Bad St. Leonhard and Ybbs where essentially, they first produce single-layer boards that are further processed into CLT: In Gruvön, elements of up to 3.5 m of height will be possible. This, in turn, is a novelty.
More goods for Central Europe
Gruvön has harbour access and therefore it is especially fit to supply Great Britain or overseas markets. Once Gruvön is up and running, more goods will be available for Central Europe and furthermore, Ybbs and Bad St. Leonhard will also focus more on immediate "neighboring markets" again.
Rib elements as new product
CLT is one of the many products that Stora Enso offers for modern timber construction. The most recent innovation joined the product range in May 2018: the rib panel production in Ybbs. These panels are rib and box elements that combine the advantages of planar CLT with those of bar-shaped glulam.
Reduced wood use is possible
"The dimensions define the used CLT volume in each case", Weiss elaborates. Off the top of his head he mentions office spaces that span 6 to 7 m as a possible area of application. "Those can be manufactured with extra-strong CLT – or in a more material-efficient and slender manner with rib elements. Reduced wood use has always been a hot topic. This is a solution for it."
For a few weeks now, the rib elements are CE certified. Now, Stora Enso enters the marketing field. "If the offer is accepted as planned, such a production could also be added in Gruvön in the future", Weiss looks ahead.
CLT and LVL
If larger objects are requested, solutions can be offered in accordance with in-house products. CLT and rib elements have already been mentioned - LVL is another one of Stora Enso's products. CLT with LVL for instance was used in a project in Finland: the Lighthouse Tower in Joensuu. "The walls there are made from Austrian CLT, the ceilings from LVL. A product mix like that makes sense in order to make timber construction more efficient. We largely produce everything ourselves", Jöbstl emphasizes a unique selling point. Apart from the rib element production, Stora Enso also invested in the elimination of production bottlenecks at both of their Austrian sites this year. Surface finishes like paint coatings and paneling are also possible to a limited extent in 2019. The industrialization of different finishing processes is subject to current development. "It is important to create additional value for the plain board. To is, this is one possibility", Jöbstl adds.
No worries about other producers
"The new capacities will find their application", Weiss is optimistic. "By now projects exist that we did not even dare to dream of until recently." Since the number of spectacular CLT constructions is ever growing, Weiss demands stricter compliance with all quality standards. Problems like in Portland are a popular argument in favor of competitive materials.
What also becomes clear in the face of an ever increasing spread of CLT as a construction material: how lucky the German-speaking area is with its well-functioning carpentry and timber construction industry. Comparable situations can hardly be found anywhere outside of this region. "We cannot simply transfer Central-European craftsmanship and know-how into the world. This is why we offer our partners courses and trainings", Weiss highlights the necessity of knowledge transfer.
Here you can download the German PDF of the CLT Special 2018 issue:
